i 


I 


THE 

Lutheran  Church  Review 


No.    i.— JANUARY,  1898. 


Article  XIII. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  THE  SUNQAY  SCHOOL. 

From  earliest  ages  music  has  played  a  prominent  part  in 
the  worship  and  religions  of  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men. 
Beginning  with  the  crudest  kind  of  instruments,  many  of  which 
are  still  extant  among  the  heathen  nations  of  the  globe,  ad- 
vancing on  down  through  time,  progressing  and  improving 
as  they  went,  we  have  to-day  the  fruits  of  generations  of  labor 
to  put  to  our  use  and  enjoyment.  The  office  of  sacred  music 
holds  a  vitally  important  part  in  the  worship  of  the  Sunday- 
school.  Here,  if  anywhere  in  the  Christian  world,  should 
proper  attention  be  paid  to  the  selection  and  rendition  of 
music,  for  here  is  the  fountain-head  of  the  coming  generations 
who  in  their  turn  shall  collectively  rule  and  govern  the  Church 
of  the  future.  And,  as  it  is  of  a  thus  great  importance,  let  us 
look  deeper  into  the  matter  and  see  what  steps  can  be  taken 
to  benefit  the  music  of  the  Sunday  school  of  to-day;  and 
divide  into  three  topics  the  subject  under  consideration. 

First — The  Proper  Accompanying  Instrument. 

Second — The  Proper  Rendition. 

Third — The  Proper  Selection. 

Of  all  the  instruments  for  use  in  accompanying  the  music 
of  the  Sunday-school  the  pipe-organ,  of  course,  towers  head 
and  shoulders  above  anything  else.  Its  solemn,  heavy  tone, 
adapted  to  the  voice  as  no  other  instrument  ever  made  by 
man,  makes  this  an  indisputable  conclusion.  Rut  the  great 
expense  connected  with  such  an  instrument  bars  many,  if  not 
the  bulk  of  Sunday-schools,  from  obtaining  it.  I  might  here 
hint  that  frequently  organ-builders  have  second-hand  instru- 
ments which  they  have  traded  in,  and  which  they  repair  and 
sell  for  a  very  low  figure  ;  and  it  should  also  be  remembered 


144  TIIE  Lutheran  church  review. 

that  a  pipe-crgan  of  three  or  four  good  speaking  stops  is 
better  than  the  average  reed-organ  of  twenty.  But  if  it  is  not 
possible  to  procure  such  an  instrument  the  next  best,  and,  in 
fact,  only  other  recourse,  is  the  reed-organ.  Many  of  these 
have  been  brought  up  to  a  fairly  good  grade,  and,  taken  as  a 
whole,  have  the  advantage  of  being  exceedingly  cheap,  in  fact 
some  are  so  cheap  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  anything  in 
the  musical  line,  on  which  a  four-part  harmony  could  be 
played,  cheaper.  Its  sustaining  organ-like  tone  is  well  adapted 
to  hymn-work,  chanting,  and  all  other  musical  work  neces- 
sary for  the  service.  Other  instruments  in  the  school  are  de- 
cidedly out  of  place.  The  piano,  for  instance,  does  not  lend 
itself  to  the  class  of  work  at  all  ;  and,  as  stated  before,  the 
organ  is  so  much  cheaper  than  the  piano,  that  there  can  be 
no  excuse  for  anyone  introducing  the  latter  instrument  into 
the  service  of  the  Sunday-school. 

The  most  irreverent,  not  to  say  ear-splitting  instrument, 
frequently  brought  into  use  for  Sunday-school  music,  is  the 
cornet.  What  could  sound  much  worse  than  when  passing  a 
church  where  they  are  supposed  to  worship  the  Lord  you 
hear  a  few  voices  almost  over- topped  and  drowned  by  the  tone 
of  a  big,  piercing  instrument  savoring  very  strongly  of  brass- 
band  and  political  parades.  Is  there  the  solemnity  about  such 
a  service  which  there  should  be  ?  Decidedly,  no.  The  horn 
is  doing  it  mechanically  ;  no  feeling,  expression  or  any  other 
kind  of  emotion— just  a  blare.  And  why  ?  "  13ecau.se,"  say 
some,  "  we  must  have  something  to  lead  us.  The  organ  isn't 
a  leading  instrument,  and  we  must  be  led."  True  ;  I  acknowl- 
edge the  organ  is  not  a  leading  instrument;  that  is  not  its 
sphere  ;  but  there  is  within  every  Sunday-school,  even  among 
the  most  unpretentious,  something  which  will  lead  your  school 
far  better  than  all  your  cornets  and  other  accessories  of  a 
similar  nature.  This  brings  us  to  the  second  point — the  ren- 
dition. 

Select  say  a  dozen,  eighteen  or  even  two  dozen  boys  and 
girls  averaging  in  age  from  8  to  13  years.  Form  them  into  a 
choir ;  allow  each  teacher  to  pick  a  voice  or  two  from  his  or 


MUSIC    OF   THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  1 45 

her  class.  Possibly  the  teacher  may  not  be  musical.  That 
makes  but  little  difference.  Any  one  endowed  with  the  or- 
dinary amount  of  perception  can  tell  who  sings  with  best  voice 
and  most  volume.  Start  such  a  choir  in  to  sing  and  hear  the 
result  after  a  very  little  training.  Of  late  years  it  has  been  the 
custom  of  Grace  Lutheran  Church,  of  Lancaster,  of  which  I 
am  organist,  to  get  up  a  small  class  of  this  kind  to  sing  an 
anthem  at  the  Christmas  festival.  Last  year  there  was  a  class 
of  this  kind  organized  for  this  purpose  and  the  anthem 
selected  was  a  moderately  difficult  setting  of  "  Sing,  O 
Heavens  ";  which  several  years  ago  was  used  by  the  full  choir 
with  our  other  Christmas  music.  This  class,  organized  and 
drilled  by  Miss  Anna  Swartzwelder,  one  of  the  Sunday-school 
teachers,  had  only  four  half  hour  rehearsals.  At  the  fes- 
tival they  rendered  the  selection  ;  and  I  am  not  exagger- 
ating when  I  say  those  eighteen  or  twenty  children  would 
have  led  any  chorus  of  five  hundred  ever  brought  together  in 
one  room.  Children  pick  up  quickly ;  on  the  plain  hymn- 
work  of  the  Sunday-school  service  the  rehearsing  could  be 
done  by  merely  staying  about  fifteen  minutes  after  the  close 
of  each  session.  And  how  much  better!  How  much  more 
reverent  to  thus  sing  songs  of  praise  to  the  Most  High  ;  under 
such  leadership  to  render  him  praise,  and  not  with  lips  alone, 
but  with  our  hearts  in  the  work,  such  as  they  will  be  when 
we  have  formed  a  mighty  chorus  to  the  praise  of  His  Holy 
Name.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  the  sheep  nature  in  human- 
ity in  general ;  but  even  more  especially  in  children.  Start  a 
few  and  the  balance  will  follow,  be  the  start  for  good  or  evil. 
This  method  is  within  the  reach  of  all ;  therefore,  to  those  who 
wish  to  benefit  the  music  of  their  school,  instead  of  paying  a 
cornetist,  try  it.  In  an  incredibly  short  time  you  will  be  sur- 
prised with  the  result. 

And  now  for  the  last  and  most  important  topic — the  se- 
lection. Our  own  Sunday-school  book  contains  a  fine  collec- 
tion of  hymns  suitable  for  every  occasion.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing, there  are  some  who  have  discarded  them,  and  in  their 
place  have  substituted  vile  collections   of  sensational  trash 


146  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH  REVIEW. 

which  appear  under  various  names — "  Moody  and  Sankey 
Melodies,"  "Gospel  Hymns,"  "Winnowed  Songs,"  etc.;  a  horri- 
ble product,  all  through,  of  latter  day  sensationalism ;  many 
bordering  on  the  ridiculous,  to  put  it  mildly ;  many  more  re- 
minding their  hearers  of  the  dance-floor  and  music  hall ;  some 
of  negro-plantation  melodies,  notably  a  much  used  tune  of 
this  kind  to  that  solemn  hymn,  "Alas,  and  Did  My  Saviour 
Bleed,"  also  many  of  that  swingy  6-8  time,  which  sound  as 
though  they  emanated  from  a  hand-organ,  and  would  make 
far  more  suitable  music  for  a  dancing  bear  than  for  a  sacred 
service.  There  is  little  use  of  disputing  this  fact — Hymns 
which  move  the  feet  will  never  stir  the  soul.  And  it  is  not  the 
feet  of  the  children  which  we  desire  to  train  ;  it  is  their  im- 
mortal souls  we  want  to  impress.  Fasten  upon  their  retentive 
memories  some  grand  old  hymn  and  it  will  be  with  them  all 
the  days  of  their  lives.  Don't  forget  the  old  hymns.  Not  the 
tame  sentimentalism  of  the  bulk  of  the  modern  compositions, 
but  hymns  which  were  written  in  those  days  when  to  be  a 
Christian  didn't  mean  to  go  out  in  best  dress  on  Sunday  and 
be  honored  for  your  worshiping ;  but  when  it  meant  to  be 
scorned,  reviled,  persecuted  with  untold  tortures,  murdered 
by  the  most  fiendish  cruelty  which  devilish  ingenuity  could 
devise  ;  hymns  written  by  those  who  felt  their  immortal  spirit 
in  their  work,  whose  faith  was  not  the  mere  faith  of  lips,  but 
whose  vows  of  allegiance  to  Christ  and  his  Church  were 
sealed  with  their  own  life's  blood.  Hymns  which,  though 
their  authors  have  long  since  joined  the  silent  majority,  still 
speak  to  us  with  powerful  eloquence,  many  of  them  eclipsing 
some  of  our  most  elaborate  discourses  of  to-day,  and  reveal- 
ing to  our  minds  why  the  tortures  had  no  effect  at  making 
them  renounce  their  faith.  Grand  Old  Hymns !  They  have 
seated  and  unseated  kings  ;  they  have  brought  myriads  of 
souls  to  that  sublime  trust  and  faith  in  God  which  we  so  ad- 
mire in  all  those  who  have  rendered  up  their  lives  in  His  ser- 
vice, and  now  when  they  come  to  us  as  conquerors,  shall  we 
cast  them  aside  ?  No,  a  thousand  times,  no.  Let  us  accept 
them,  take  them  through  life  as  our  guides,  so  that  in  the  end 


MUSIC    OF   THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  1 47 

they  may  bring  us  all,  as  they  have  done  to  those  in  past  ages, 
around  the  Great  White  Throne  in  Heaven.  Hymns  like  "A 
Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God,"  on  which  the  foundation  of  all 
Lutheranism  is  built ;  "  Before  Jehovah's  Awful  Throne,"  the 
battle  hymn  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  "  Fear  Not,  O  Little 
Flock,  the  Foe  ";  when  one  reads  a  hymn  like  that  he  can 
readily  understand  how  the  army  fought  under  their  banner 
feeling  "  strong  in  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  Then  in  music  of  a 
quieter  nature,  we  have  "Abide  With  Me,"  "Thine  Forever," 
"  Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  and  hundreds  of  others,  which  while 
not  so  majestic  as  the  former  have  brought  comfort  to  many 
a  soul  during  the  sad  hours  of  grief  and  affliction.  Teach  the 
children  these  fine  old  poems  of  song  ;  so  that  when  they  grow 
into  manhood  and  womanhood  they  may  have  the  inspired 
sentiments  written  indelibly  upon  their  memories,  and  may 
ever  join  in  raising  up  their  voices  to  the  praise  of  our  Eternal 
Father,  who  has  given  us  all  our  blessings  of  life,  health  and 
his  own  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Let  us 
therefore  render  to  him  our  best.  Nothing  else  will  do.  And 
to  His  Great  Name  be  all  our  praise  and  glory  through  the 
endless  ages  of  eternity.     Amen. 

Wm.  Z.  Roy. 
Lancaster,  Nov.  gth,  1897. 


* 


Article  XIV. 

"LUTHER  AND  RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION"; 

OR, 

THE  ALLEGED   INTOLERANCE    OF   LUTHER   IN 
RELIGIOUS  MATTERS. 

That  the  statement  of  the  Psalmist  "  There  is  no  God," 
torn  from  its  connection,  might  be  used  in  justification    of 
atheism  has  been  so  frequently  stated  that  it  will  not  be  neces 
sary  to  repeat  it.     Any  writer's  views  can  thus  be  made  to 
show  the  opposite  of  that  which  was  intended. 

The  mode  of  quoting  statements  made  by  Luther  in  re- 
gard to  the  Jews  by  a  well  known  writer,  Dunlop  Moore,  in 
The  Prcsbyteria.71  and  Reformed  Review*  is  of  this  character. 
Luther  undoubtedly  did  make  use  of  some  of  the  expressions 
attributed  to  him.  But  he  did  not  use  them  in  the  sense  im- 
plied. It  is  not  mainly  the  misquotation,  the  half  statement 
of  a  truth,  or  the  partial  suppression  of  it,  to  which  we  must 
object,  but  to  the  false  light  in  which  the  whole  matter  is  pre- 
sented. The  writer  fails  to  see  that  the  question  of  religious 
tolerance,  or  in  fact  of  religious  views  in  any  form,  is  not  the 
subject  Luther  had  under  discussion  in  his  statements  against 
the  Jews.  As  the  Germans  say :  "  Die  ganze  Sache  ist  in  ein 
schiefes  Licht  gestellt."  It  is  very  much  like  the  image  re- 
flected from  the  peculiarly  constructed  mirrors  found  in  some 
railway  stations.  It  is  the  likeness  of  the  person  standing  be- 
fore it.  But  it  is  a  distorted  one.  All  the  features  are  there 
and  they  can  readily  be  recognized.     But  instead  of  an  indi- 

*v.      The  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review  for  January,  1897,  Article  VII, 
Luther  and  Religious  Persecution. 


